美国文学课件

1、 高等院校英语本科教材 A Survey of American Literature The 3rd EDITION 美国文学简史 （第三版） 常耀信 著 课件作者: 郑佩伟 南开大学出版社2022/7/261 Chapter 1 Colonial AmericaI.The Origin of American Literature(美国文学的起源） 四种观点：1、1492年，即意大利人Clumbus首次置足美洲大陆为起点。2、1607年，首批英国移民横渡大西洋到达现在的Virginia一带，并在那里建立第一个永久性殖民点(Jamestown)。3、1616，Smith 在英国出版的关于弗吉

2、尼亚的真正叙述被看做美国文 学的真正开端。4、1620年，大批英国移民乘坐“五月花号”帆船来到北美大陆，并在普利茅 斯（Plymouth)建立第二个殖民点。II. Puritanism 1、起源与主张： 清教，基督教新教派别之一。16世纪出现于英国。该派要求以加尔文学说为依据改革英国国教会，承认圣经为唯一权威，反对国王和主教的专制。主张清除国教中的天主教残余，纯洁教会，简化仪式。2022/7/262 反对主教制，要求教会组织民主化。在世俗生活上，清教徒主张节俭、勤劳，厌恶懒惰和邪恶。 18世纪中叶英国著名的清教徒布道家约翰卫斯理(John Wesley)的一句名言成为了清教徒精神的精辟概括：“

3、拼命地挣钱、拼命地省钱、拼命地捐钱(earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can)。Methodism, 就是由他创立的，在英国叫循道公会，在美国叫卫理公会。总之，清教徒怀着一种使命感、神圣感在创业，在美国的开拓疆土、扩大产业、增加财富视为天职，他们始终过着一种圣洁、公义的生活，他们将自己的一切活动都神圣化，他们因此为美国人立下了奠定千秋万代的产业和基业，为人类社会发展市场经济立下了典范和原动力. 2、清教主义思想的渊源加尔文教 John Calvin(15091564),法国神学家（theologian)。其宗教出发点就是“预定论”

4、(predestination)。曾提出“选民说”和“救赎理论”。他说：“为什么有些人一生默默无闻，有些人却飞黄腾达？为什么有些人身居高位，而有些人却抑居卑下？其根本原因是上帝的拣选”。选中的为选民，未被选中的为弃民。其积极意义在于以上帝的绝对权威否定了教皇的权威。他认为要当选民必须具有3个条件：对基督的虔诚；勇于斗争、百折不挠地争取事业的成功；具有高尚的道德品德。 2022/7/263加尔文教5大观点： 1、人人生而有罪。2、上帝选择有限。3、基督拯救有限。4、恩惠不由索取。5、圣徒保佑清教。III. 早期美国文学形式及主要作家 文学形式：diaries, journals, letters

5、, commonplace books(小册子)，travel books, sermons. 主要作家：Anne Bradstreet（安妮.布拉德斯特里特），Edward Taylor(爱德华.泰勒)，Roger Williams(罗杰.威廉姆斯)，John Woolman(约翰.伍尔曼)，Thomas Paine(托马斯.潘恩)，Philip Freneau(菲利普.弗瑞诺) 1、 Anne Bradstreet（16121672） 她是殖民地时期的第一位诗人，其第一部诗集：最近在北美出现的第十位缪斯（The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung up in America，

6、1650)是移民在北美创作的第一部文学作品集。她有“第十位缪斯”之称。作品题材分为两类：一类是体现清教主义精神的宗教沉思，代表作有沉思录(Meditations)，灵与肉(The Flesh and the Spirit). 第二类体现对丈夫、孩子、家庭、亲友等真诚炙热的爱。代表作有致我亲爱的丈夫（To My Dear and Loving Husband). Contemlations(9) 我听见欢快的蚱蜢在歌唱 黑衣蟋蟀扮演又一角色 他们保持同一音调演奏同一乐章 似乎为献一小技而自鸣得意 当我不能尽情高歌 可怜的小生灵们还能抬高嗓音 将它们的造物主放声歌唱？ 2022/7/2642、 P

7、hilip Freneau（1752-1832） 有“美国诗歌之父”和“美国革命诗人”之称。主要作品有：美国的荣耀蒸蒸日上(The Rising Glory of America, 1772), 英国囚船(The British Prison Ship, 1781), 野忍冬(The Wild Honey Suckle).美丽的花儿你长得如此秀丽，你银装素裹是大自然将你打扮， 却藏身在这幽静沉闷的地方，她吩咐你避开那世俗的目光， 甜美的花儿开了却没人亲昵， 在这里她抛下绿荫将你守看，招展的纤细枝条也没人观赏； 还送来潺潺流水环绕你身旁，没游来荡去的脚来把你摧残， 就这样夏日静静地走过你面前，

8、没东攀西摘的手来将你折攀。 你时日流尽芳颜终槁静卧安眠。2022/7/265 你的娇媚终会凋谢让我伤心， 你末日的芳颜流尽我无限哀叹， 别的那些花儿也不比你幸运 ， 就连伊甸园的花儿也不能幸免于难； 这霜的严酷，秋的肃杀毫无情面 将这花儿摧残，余痕难留一点。 当初从晨曦和夜露之间 你这小小的生命来到世上， 你来时无牵挂去时无牵连， 因为你的死让你同先前一样； 这来去之间不过是一个钟点， 这就是脆弱的花享有的天年。2022/7/266 Chapter 3 American RomanticismI. A brief introduction 美国浪漫主义时期开始于十八世纪末，到内战爆发为止，是美

9、国文学史上最重要的时期。华盛顿欧文出版的见闻札记标志着美国文学的开端，新英格兰超验主义是美国浪漫主义达到鼎盛时期的标志，惠特曼的草叶集是浪漫主义时期文学的压卷之作。浪漫主义时期的文学是美国文学的繁荣时期，所以也称为“美国的文艺复兴。” 19世纪初，美国完全摆脱了对英国的依赖，以独立国家的身份进入世界政治舞台。随着独立的美国政府的成立，美国人民已感到需要有美国文学，表达美国人民所特有的经历:早期清教徒的移民，与印第安人的遭遇，边疆开发者的生活以及西部荒原等。 这时期作家们跟英国浪漫主义作家一样，强调文学的想象力和感情色彩，反对古典主义的形式和观点，歌颂大自然，崇尚个性解放与人的情感表达。这个时期

10、的主要作家有：华盛顿欧文 ，詹姆斯费尼莫库柏 ，埃德加爱伦坡 ，艾默生，梭罗，霍桑，麦尔维尔，惠特曼，狄金森，布莱恩特，朗费罗。2022/7/267II.Life of Washington Irving 华盛顿欧文是美国著名作家，他于1783年4月3日出生在纽约一个富商家庭。欧文从少年时代起就喜爱阅读英国作家司各特、拜仑和彭斯等人的作品。中学毕业后，他遵从父命在律师事务所学习法律，但他的志趣却在文学方面。后来他因病赴欧洲休养，游历了法国、英国和意大利，作了大量旅途笔记，为以后的创作积累了丰富的素材。1809年，他的第一部作品纽约外史以“迪德里希尼克博克”(Diedrich Knickerbo

11、cker)的笔名出版。这是一部具有独特风格的诙谐之作，充分显露出欧文的幽默才能，这部作品使欧文成为纽约文坛风靡一时的人物。 1815年，欧文再度赴英国，结识了司各特，骚塞等著名作家，同时获得牛津大学授予的法学博士学位。回国后潜心搞文学创作，于1820年写出了著名的见闻札记，这是欧文的代表作，包括小说、散文、杂感等32篇，其中包括两个著名短篇小说：瑞普凡温克尔和睡谷传奇。以幽默风趣的笔调和富于幻想的浪漫色彩，描写了英国和美国古老的风俗习惯以及善良淳朴的旧式人物。这部作品在英国出版后，受到欧美文学界的高度重视，奠定了欧文在美国文学史上的地位。1929年前后，他写了三部有关西班牙的著作：哥伦布传、攻

12、克格拉纳达和阿尔罕伯拉。1850年（67岁），又一次赴英国旅游，并与狄更斯和萨克雷结为知己。他的晚年，除了当过几年美国驻西班牙公使外，绝大部分是在家乡度过的。1859年11月28日，欧文与世长辞。美国人民为了怀念这位在文学方面做出突出贡献的作家，在纽约下半旗致哀，而欧文的许多优秀作品则被人们传诵至今，成为珍贵的文学遗产。他本人更被尊为“美国文学之父”。 2022/7/268II.Main works 1. A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty(1809) 2.

13、The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent(1819- 1820) a. Rip Van Winkle b. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 3. The History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus 4. A Chronicle of the Conquest of Grannada 5. The Alhambra 6. Life of Goldsmith（哥尔德史密斯传） 7. Life of Washington2022/7/269III.About Rip V

14、an Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 1. Rip Van Winkle 1).Main plot（主要情节） It is a short story by Washington Irving, published in THE SKETCH BOOK in 1819-20. Though set in the Dutch culture of pre-Revolutionary War New York state, the story of Rip Van Winkle is based on a German folktale. Rip Va

15、n Winkle is an amiable farmer who wanders into the Catskill Mountains, where he comes upon a group of dwarfs playing ninepins. Rip accepts their offer of a drink of liquor and promptly falls asleep. When he awakens, 20 years later, he is an old man with a long, white beard; the dwarfs are nowhere in

16、 sight. Rip goes into town and finds that everything is changed: his wife is dead, his children are grown, and George Washingtons portrait hangs in place of King George IIIs. The old man entertains the townspeople with tales of the old days and of his encounter with the little men in the Catskill mo

17、untains . 2）Further comments(其他） 这篇小说乡土风味浓郁，充满浪漫主义奇想，流露出作者本人的保守观点，也巧妙暗示了资产阶级革命的局限。小说反映了两大主题，一是避世（seclusion or solitude)。瑞普为躲避悍妻的咒骂离家出走就是对现实生活的逃避。再就是变革（social reform), 瑞普在山中只一宿，人2022/7/2610 间数十载，醒后下山回家，发现时间已过了整整二十年，人世沧桑，一切都十分陌生。原本闭塞的山村现在一片沸腾，到处是演说、传单、竞选。恍惚中，瑞普发现酒店招牌上英王乔治的画像变了。红色的上衣变成了蓝黄色，手中的王笏变成宝剑，头冠

18、三角帽，下面是“华盛顿将军”的字眼。瑞普终于知道，他现在已由英王的臣民变为“合众国的一个自由的公民”。 另外，Rip Van Winkle 这个名字成了“时代的落伍者”和“思想上的落后者”的代名词。 Rip(rest in peace). 2. Sleepy Hollow 1) Main characters Ichabod Crane(伊卡鲍德.克莱恩） Brom Bones(布罗姆.波恩斯） Katrina(卡纯娜） 2）Main plot On the eastern side of the Hudson River in New York, there is a small marke

19、t town called Tarrytown. About two miles from Tarrytown is a little valley. People call it Sleepy Hollow. Soon after the end of the U.S. Revolutionary War(1775-6), a man named Ichabod Crane came to Sleepy Hollow to be the teacher in the area. He made himself useful in many ways. He helped the farmer

20、s with their daily works. 2022/7/2611 Soon Ichabod Crane became interested in Katrina Van Tassel, the only child of Baltus Van Tassel who had a big farm. However, Ichabod did have a rival, Abraham Van Brunt, whose nickname was Brom Bones. One autumn day Ichabod was invited to a party that evening at

21、 Mynheer Van Tassels. In the afternoon, he then borrowed a horse named Gunpower from a bad tempered farmer he lived with. Soon the party broke up; Ichabod, however, stayed on to talk with Katrina for a little while. When he left her he felt somewhat disappointed, without knowing exactly how she felt

22、 about him. He rode off on the old horse he had borrowed. It was the middle of the night when Ichabod approached the place where so many of the ghost story scenes supposedly took place. Two hundred yards ahead there was a bridge over a river. Ichabods horse suddenly stopped before the bridge. And ju

23、st then Ichabod saw something huge climbing upward in the shadow of the grove. Ichabod was terrified. He asked in unsteady voice: Who are you？ There was no response. And the unknown thing moved to the center of the road. This thing appeared to be a large horseman, on a powerful black horse! Ichabod

24、quickened his horse, and the stranger kept up with him. When Ichabods horse slowed down, the other horse did too. Ichabods heartbeat quickened. As he turned around, he was shocked to see that the horseman did not have a head! The head was carried beside the saddle. Ichabod tried to get away from the

25、 monster, but all he did was in vain. 2022/7/2612 The monster came closer and closer. As they reached the churchyard, the monster hit Ichabod with its own head. Ichabod fell off and tumbled headlong into the dust.Next morning the old horse was found. But no one could find Ichabod. What they did find

26、 was a shattered pumpkin on the ground. The people in the area came to the conclusion that Ichabod had been carried off by the galloping horseman. But an old farmer, who had been to New York City, learned that Ichabod was still alive and became a judge in the city. Brom Bones, in the meantime, had m

27、arried Katrina. Whenever he heard anyone tell this story, he always smiled. He laughed especially heartily when anyone mentioned the pumpkin. 3) Other comments 这个故事表现了“睡谷”与社会隔绝的特点以及由此造成的人们思想上的停滞与迷信，并以赞赏的口吻描写了这个偏僻小村里喜气洋洋的丰收景象和农家的殷实富足。作者的用意在于美化早期美国殖民地宗法社会，想尽力展现乡下比喧哗的大都市优越。2022/7/2613 Chapter 4 New Eng

28、land TranscendentalismI. What is Transcendentalism New England Transcendentalism was a religious, philosophical, and literary movement flourishing in New England in the 1830s. Transcendentalists assert the existence of an ideal spiritual state that transcends the physical and empirical and is only r

29、ealized through the individuals intuition, rather than through human knowledge, experience and reason. The ideas of transcendentalism were most eloquently expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson in such essays as “Nature” (1836), “Self-Reliance,” and “The Over-Soul” (both 1841), and by Henry David Thoreau

30、in his book Walden (1854).II. The major features of Transcendentalism 1).Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the universe. 2). Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual. To them the individual is the most element of society

31、. 3). Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as sybolic of the Spirit or God.2022/7/2614III. Life of Ralph Waldo Emerson(18031882) 拉尔夫瓦尔多爱默生思想家、散文作家、诗人。1803年5月25日生于波士顿一个牧师家庭。8岁丧父，家境陷入贫困。14岁前为了积累学费以备考入大学深造，便在中学食堂里谋得一个侍者的职位，边求学，边做工。1817年考入哈弗学院，1821年毕业后在他兄长开办的波斯顿女子学校任教直到1825年。1826年进入哈佛

32、神学院中级班学习，次年被获准讲道。1828年成为波士顿第二教堂牧师，并以唯一神教牧师的身份布道。后因不赞成这一教派的某些教义，放弃了这一神职。 1833年赴欧游历，拜访浪漫主义运动的先驱人物柯尔律治、华兹华斯等，与卡莱尔结为知交，并深受康德先验论哲学的影响。回国后于1836年出版了被称为是“超验主义宣言”的集中阐述其超验主义观点的第一篇重要作品论自然。同年又同几个志同道合的作家开始不定期聚会，探讨神学、哲学及文学等方面的问题，并出版综合文艺刊物日晷(The Dial)。1837年8月31日，爱默生在美国大学生联谊会上2022/7/2615 以论美国学者为题发表演讲，抨击美国社会中灵魂从属于金钱

33、的拜金主义和资本主义劳动分工使人异化为物的现象，强调人的价值；提出学者的任务是自由而勇敢地从皮相中揭示真实，以鼓舞人、提高人、引导人；他号召发扬民族自尊心，反对一味追随外国的学说。这一演讲轰动一时，对美国民族文化的兴起产生重大的影响，被霍尔姆斯誉为“我们的思想上的独立宣言”。 1861-1865内战期间，他积极反对南方蓄奴制，支持约翰.布朗的行动，在一次演讲中公开称自己为绝对的废奴主义者(abolitionist)，1862年发表题为“美国文明”的讲演，并令见林肯。林肯遭暗杀后，他称林肯为“这片大陆上的真正的代表人物”。1882年4月27日病逝于家乡康科德镇（Concord)，离他80岁生日仅

34、差不到一个月。 IV.His main works 1. Nature(论自然) 2. Self-Reliance(论自助) 3. The Oversoul(论超灵) 4.The American Scholar(美国学者) 5. The Divine School Address(神学院献辞) 6.The Poet2022/7/2616 Chapter 5 Nathaniel HawthorneI.Life of the author 纳森尼尔霍桑（18041864）美国小说家，是美国19世纪影响最大的浪漫主义小说家和心理小说家。爱伦.坡曾赞扬他“他具有非凡的文学天赋，无论是在美国还是在其他

35、国家都是独一无二的”。他被认为是美国文学史上浪漫主义小说和心理分析小说的开创者。1804年7月4日出生于马萨诸塞州萨莱姆镇一个没落的世家。他的祖辈之中有人(William Hawthorne, John Hawthorne)曾参与清教徒迫害异端的事件，为著名的1692年“萨莱姆驱巫案”(The Salem Witchcraft Trial)的3 名法官之一。这段历史对霍桑的思想产生了深刻的影响。霍桑的父亲是一名船长,在他4岁时去世。1821年霍桑在亲戚资助下进入博多因学院，同学中有诗人朗费罗与后来当选为总统的皮尔斯等. 1825年大学毕业，回到塞勒姆镇，从事写作。据他姐姐回忆，霍桑读大学期间学

36、业平平，他热衷于政治社会活动，经常因违反校规被罚款和警告，毕业前后曾写过几个短篇，但被退稿，他一气之下烧了手稿。 1836年和1846年霍桑曾两度在海关任职，1841年曾参加超验主义者创办的布鲁克农场。他于1842年结婚，在康科德村居住，结识了作家爱默生、梭罗等人。1848年由于政见与当局不同,失去海关的职务,便致力于创作活动，写出了他最重要的长篇小说红字(1850），使他成为公认的当时最重要的小说家。皮尔斯当选为美国总统后，霍桑于1853年被任命为驻英国利物浦的领事。2022/7/2617 1857年后,霍桑侨居意大利,创作了另一部讨论善恶问题的长篇小说玉石雕像(1860)。1860年霍桑返

37、回美国，在康科德定居，坚持写作。1864年5月19日去世，身后留下4部未完成的长篇小说。II. 霍桑文学创作思想 霍桑是一个思想上充满矛盾的作家，新英格兰的清教主义传统对他影响很深。他自幼受故乡宗教气氛的熏陶，他的童年时代是在萨莱姆镇上的林荫遮蔽的凄凉城堡中度过的，败落的家境使幼小的霍桑性格变得内向，常常带有几分的压抑和消沉。一方面他反抗这个传统，抨击宗教狂热和狭隘、虚伪的宗教信条；另一方面他又受这个传统的束缚，以加尔文教派的善恶观念来认识社会和整个世界。作家梅尔维尔曾指出，他的作品中渗透着“加尔文教派的人性本质和原罪的观念”。霍桑思想保守，对生产的发展和技术进步抱有抵触情绪，对社会改革持怀疑

38、态度，对当时蓬勃开展的废奴运动不很理解。这些在他的作品中都有所流露。在艺术上他独具一格，擅长心理描写，善于揭示人物的内心冲突。他把自己的小说称为“心理罗曼史”。他潜心挖掘隐藏在事物背后的不易觉察的意义，作品想象丰富，结构严谨 。 他认为人生都是“恶”，人的一切罪行皆来源于内心的“恶”，“恶”无处不在，无处不有，他认为“内在世界一旦净化，外在世界游荡着的许多罪恶都会自行消失”。 2022/7/2618III.Main works 1.Twice Told Tales(1837,重讲一遍的故事第一个短篇小说集） 2. Mosses from an Old Manse古屋青苔 3. The Scar

39、let Letter(1850) 4. The House of the Seven Gables带七个尖角阁的房子 5. The Ministers Black Veil牧师的黑面纱 6. The Marble Faun玉石雕像 7. Young Goodman Brown青年古德曼.布朗 8. The Blithedale Romance福谷传奇IV. About The Scarlet Letter 1. Main characters Hester Prynne(海丝特.白兰）Chillingworth（齐灵沃斯） Dimmesdale（狄梅斯代尔） Pearl（珍珠） 2022/7/

40、2619 The 10 Commandments Gods Revelation in the Old TestamentThe 10 Commandments are found in the Bibles Old Testament at Exodus, Chapter 20. They were given directly by God to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai after He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt: And God spoke all these words, sayin

41、g: I am the LORD your God ONE: You shall have no other gods before Me. TWO: You shall not make for yourself a carved image-any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. THREE: You shall not take the name of the LORD your G

42、od in vain. FOUR: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. FIVE: Honor your father and your mother. SIX: You shall not murder. SEVEN: You shall not commit adultery. EIGHT: You shall not steal. NINE: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. TEN: You shall not covet your neighbors hou

43、se; you shall not covet your neighbors wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbors. 2022/7/26202.Plot A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter

44、“A” on her breast. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hesters husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead to America, wherebut Hester has apparently had an affair. She will not reveal her lovers identity. The elderly onlooker is Hes

45、ters missing husband, who is now practicing medicine and calling himself Roger Chillingworth. He settles in Boston, intent on revenge. He reveals his true identity to no one but Hester. Dimmesdale, however, appears to be wasting away and suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psy

46、chological distress. Chillingworth suspects that there may be a connection between the ministers torments and Hesters secret, and he begins to test Dimmesdale to see what he can learn. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers a mark on the mans breast which convinces him tha

47、t his suspicions are correct. Dimmesdales psychological anguish deepens, and he invents new tortures for himself. Hester goes to Chillingworth and asks him to stop adding to Dimmesdales self-torment. Chillingworth refuses. 2022/7/2621 Hester arranges an encounter with Dimmesdale in the forest becaus

48、e she is aware that Chillingworth has probably guessed that she plans to reveal his identity to Dimmesdale. The former lovers decide to flee to Europe, where they can live with Pearl as a family. They will take a ship sailing from Boston in four days. Both feel a sense of release and Hester removes

49、her scarlet letter and lets down her hair. The day before the ship is to sail, the townspeople gather for a holiday and Dimmesdale preaches his most eloquent sermon ever. Meanwhile, Hester has learned that Chillingworth knows of their plan and has booked passage on the same ship. Dimmesdale, leaving

50、 the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing a scarlet letter seared into the flesh of his chest. He falls dead. Frustrated in his revenge, Chillingworth die

51、s a year later. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what has happened to them. Many years later, Hester returns alone, still wearing the scarlet letter, to live in her old cottage and resume her charitable work. She receives occasional letters from Pearl, who has married a European arist

52、ocrat and established a family of her own. When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale. 2022/7/2622V.Themes of the Scarlet Letter 1. Sin, Rejection, and Redemption Hester must wear a red badge of shame, identifying her an adulteress and making her an outcast in her community. On the pillory,

53、she endures the glare of scornful eyes and thereafter lives on the outskirts of town with her child, Pearl. However, though Hester has committed a grave sin, she redeems herself by accepting her punishment, and living an exemplary life. 2. Self-Respect Hester proudly carries on as she wears the scar

54、let letter, deciding to live according to the high standards she sets for herself rather than the low standards others have set for her. She takes responsibility for herself and establishes her own identity, winning the admiration of the townspeople in the end. 3. Good From Evil Hesters adultery, a

55、heinous crime in Puritan Boston, results in the birth of her daughter, Pearl. Though unruly and wild when growing up, Pearl is a blessinga little gem that gives off a bright light at a time of darkness. 4. Revenge Chillingworth made use of all means to revenge himself on Dimmesdale. 5. Rigidity and

56、Legalism The Puritan officials had rigid adherence to their moral code.2022/7/2623VI. Symbols in the novel 1. The Letter A: The scarlet letter obviously symbolizes a grave sin, adultery. 2. The Rosebush: Growing outside the prison, this shrub seems to represent pity, hope and survival. The rosebush

57、may also symbolize the mixture of goodness (the roses) and evil (the thorns) in and around each human being. 3. Dimmesdale: The ministers name represents the state of his existence: dim, gloomy, dark. 4. Pillory: The pillory represents the rigidity of the Puritan religious code . 5. Pearl: Hesters d

58、aughter Pearl symbolizes the shining goodness that can result from a sinful act. 6. Clothes of Roger Chillingworth: When Chillingworth appears in Boston with an Indian, he is clad in a strange disarray(=disorder) of civilized and savage costume. His apparel(clothes) seems to symbolize two sides of C

59、hillingworth. One is the enlightened Chillingworth .The other Chillingworth is the barbarous one who seeks revenge 7. Blackness, Darkness: Blackness and darkness are important images in the novel, symbolizing the sternness and rigidity of the Puritans, the somberness of life in colonial Boston, and

60、sinfulness and secrecy. 2022/7/2624VII.Hawthornes language in the novel peraventure=perhaps in fine=finally well-nigh=almost ere=before dexterity=skill hidden import=meaning wherefore=why heretofore=until now betoken=indicate nigh=close to or near dame=woman inasmuch as=because of late=recently betw